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O;JG7'75 GROUND WATER IN UNITED STATES Maine.-At the beginning of the year the water levels in ~ation wells were well below average and the October level in the key well at Cornish was the lowest of 15 years of record. In northern Maine water levels began to rise during the latter part of October and by early November they were above average. Elsewhere in the State. the sea'sonal summer decline, which was accentuat~d by near-drought conditions, continued into November. In some localities water levels did not begin to rise until around the middle of November as no precipitation of note fell until late October or early November. By December, however, the water levels in all observation wells were at or above average. New December highs were reached in wells at Portage~ Sherman Mills, and Mercer as a result of heavy pre- cipitation and abnormally high temperatures which melted the snow and caused the frost to melt, and~ thus, perIIlitted recharge to occur. The water level remained at a record"high stage during January at Mercer and rose to a new January high at Amherst. At Sherman Mills and Portage, however, the water levels in January declined and were slightly below average at the end of the month. At Sherman Mills the level remained below average during the rest of the y~ar except during March and April when it rose to above-average stages in response to snowmelt and precipitation. At Portage the level also rose during March but remained well above average during the remainder of the year, reaching a new record-high for August and then declining rapidly during September. The water levels in the wells at Amherst and Mercer remained high from December through the end of the year, and record-high levels for May and June were reached at Mercer and for August at Amherst. At Cornish, the level in the key well in January equalled the previous record"-high stage for that month. It remained above average until the end of May when it was just slightly below average. It generally declined during the rest of the year, and was below average during June, slightly above average during July as a result of heavy rains, and below average for August and September. At the end of the year water levels at Cornish and Sherman Mills were below average but at Portage, Mercer, and Amherst, they were above average. At the end of the year water levels in aU obs'ervation wells were higher than last year. New Hampshire.-Water levels in observation wells in southeastern New Ham.pshire declined in October and during most of November owing to a deficiency of precipitation in the preceding months. The lowest levels for the period of record (about 4! years) were measured at the end of October; at the end of November the water levels were the lowest on record for that month and a new record-low level was measured in the ob~ervation well at HaInpton. Water levels began to rise near the end of November, and rose steeply in December, but were still below average. The rise continued in January and at the end of the month the water levels were the highest of record. The levels remained well above average through March but de- clined from April through September and were below average at the end of the year. The' water level in the observation well at New London, in central New Hampshire, rose only slightly in October~ but rose steeply during November and was considerably above average at the end of November 9 owing to above average precipitation during October and November. The level remained above average through the end of July, but was below average in August and September. The December and April levels Here the highest on record (10 years) for those months. Thick. snow cover prevented measurement. of the water level in January and February. Massachusetts.--Ground-water levels in Massachu.. setts were well below average at the beginning of the water year owing to a deficiency of precipitation in thp. preceding summer and late spring. Water levels rose seasonally in most observation wells during November but remained below average. Recharge from exces- sive rainfall in December, however, raised the water levels in most wells above average for December. Water levels continued to rise from January to April and record-high levels for January and March were reached in several wells. Although water levels began . to decline seasonally in May and continued to decline during the summer months, they were at or above average at the end of each month during the remainder of the water year. The water level in the key well at Great Barrington 1'0 westem Massachusetts, at the end of October and November equalled the lowest level of record which had been set at the end of September 1957. Record-low levels for December, January~ and February were measured in this well also.. The water level in the key well at Leominster in central Massachusetts was record low for October. At the end of the year levels in all observation wells in Massachusetts except at Great Barrington were above average. The water level in the Great Barrington well~ remainep below average throughout the year but was higher at the end of the year than at the beginning. Rhode Island.-Ground-water levels in October and November were well below average, owing to record- low precipitation during the previous water year, but rose to well-above-average stages in 'December and January as the result of above-normal precipitation. Ground-wate:r levels declined slightly in February when precipitation was deficient but then rose through- out the remainder of the year as the result of above- normal ,precipitation from April through September. Thus by the end of the 1958 water year, all observation wells had recovered from the drought of the 1957 water year, and water levels were much higher than average. Connecticut.-Ground-water levels in observation wells in Connecticut rose considerably during the 1958 water year and at the end of the year generally were above average. The levels were depressed markedly at the beginning of the water year, owing to the drought of 1957. Rain- fall continued deficient through October and November, and water levels declined to stages much below average. At several wells, levels were the lowest or near lowest of record for these two months, and at a few wells levels were the lowest of the entire period of record. An upward trend began in some areas during November and became general in December as heavy rain was received during the latter month. Additional heavy precipitation during January contin- ued to drive water levels upward anq. by the end of the month had erased the effects of the 1957 drought in nearly all partgl of the State" End-of-January levels were above average and above those of the preceding